Drier



Octl is, 1927.

J. ROBERTS DRIER Filed Oct. 21, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Awnvrm I (/'ibiEoieris 2 W zrzsr Oct. 18, 1927.

J. ROBERTS DRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed oct. 21. 1926 3 9 M m W M k iJosqzz Oct 18, 1927. 1,646,259

J. ROBERTS DRIER Filed 001;. 21; 1926 4 Sheets Sheet 5 v. 5 7a /46 I v74' F I| I- M M riff u 1 r- --l v 1 ,1 105' Z i 2 M a? Tr l 1 {a l I I iv 5 56' g. I I

II I

J. ROBERTS DRIER Oct. 18, .1927. 1,646,259

I F iled Oct. 21. 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I .1 I 7Z0 a Patented Oct. 18,1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH. ROBERTS, OF EDGEWOOD, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN-MENTS, 'TO PBOCTOR & SCHWARTZ, INC., PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA,

A CORPORATION ,OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DRIER.

Application filed October 21, 1926. Serial no. 143,259.

This invention relates to improvements in driers'. More particularly itrelates to improvements in apparatus for drying or conditioning materialin trays, e. g. art1cles or masses of clay, porcelain or other materlal,rapidly and uniformly. It is an object to handle the trays through theapparatus in a stream, so that the drying is progressive through acircuit returningthem to the place of beginning.

The invention provides improved automatic means for moving the traysthrough their course.

Driers of this particular class are recogtheir eflicient andsatisfactory operation requires a timed relation between the respectiveactive elements, and a positive control means which have been diflicultto attain.

0 The operative principle involves the passing of material horizontallythrough compartments, one of which is vertically above the other, andrequires the transferring of material carriers between thesecompartments.

The arms for lifting carriers from the lower to the higher level at oneend, the hooks for lowering them at the other end, and the means foradvancing trains of the carriers through the chambersat their respectivelevels should be positive in action and be accurately timed with respectto each other in operation; The resent invention provides improvedreciprocating means for advancing the carriers in two sets, moving inopposite horizontal directions, which means is positively advanced andreversed by a main drive mechanism, all of the operating elements beingcontrolled for timed and related action with respect to each other,automatically, so as to insure a smooth run ning and eflicient drier.

These objects, and the other benefits of the structure disclosed, areattained by resorting to the endless chain principle for transmittingmotion to the lifting, lowering and train shiftin elements of the devicewith lost motion lntervals'for certain elements which reverse theirdirection of action in order to advance each train in one directiononly, step by step. Automatic actuation of a double throw clutch changesthe direction of travel of the endless chains, under propulsion of acontinously forward drive of power. The clutch actuating means,opernized as having numerous advantages, but

ated through a connection with the main chains, embodies a rocker-leverwith roller momentum counterweight.

It is intended that the patent shall cover by suitable expression in thea pended claims whatever features of patenta le' nov elty exist in theinvention disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation in sectionthrough a drier embodying the features of the present'invention, thesection being online 11 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 s an end elevation in section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a top plan, and

Figure 4 is an elevatlon' of the clutch reversing mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a drier housingwhich is constructed of suitable sheet metal, and which may have hingeddoors 12 in its ends. The interior is divided into. foun compartments,of which one is at'each side, covering the whole of the side and theother two are 1n the middle, being drying compartments or chambers 16,18, divided by a horizontal partition 14 at mid height. Each sidecompartment opens into both upper and lower drying compartments, and oneof them, 20, has a steam heating coil 28 while the other 22 has a fan 26for causing air to circulate through the series of compartments, The fan26 is fixed to a shaft suitably driven by a motor 36 mounted on the topof the main housing.

Each drying compartment'has suitable tracks for material carriers 38 tomove horizontally. through it. The tracks in. the upper chamber18 turnvertically downward at points near each end of the housing, and

these vertical runs of-the tracks stop just short of the horizontaltracks in thelower vertical track, by each advancing carrierin order tosupport such carrier at the top of said passage. Mechanism is providedto lift a carrier at the front end, from lower tohigher compartment; topush a train of can .95 compartment, thus forming a vertical guide ingswung across thepassage which is adjacent the rear riers through the topcompartment; lower them singly at the rear to the lower compartment, andpush a train of them through the latter, step by step to the front.

Upon the top of. the main housing 10, near the rear, is journaled ashaft 42 upon which are fixed two sprocket-wheels 44, one

above each side of the drying chamber, and a worm wheel 46 is on theend'of the shaft which projects beyond the side wall of the housing, ina suitable casing '48. f-Above the forward end of the housing is asimilar sprocket carrying shaft 50, having two sprocket wheels 52arranged to register with the sprocket wheels 44. Like pairs ofoppositely arranged sprocket wheels 44 and 52 are mounted within thehousing at its bottom and in vertical alignment with ,the upper pairs;and still another pair of sprocket wheels 54 in alignment with the .60at each side of the clutch element, each with clutch engaging face,respectively have direct and crossed belt connection with pulleys onauxiliary shaft 66, so that the auxiliary shaft may be rotated ineither. clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The motion of theauxiliary shaft 66 is transferred to the sprocket-carrying shafts andthence to the endless chains through the medium of a bevel pinion 70 onthe auxiliary shaft mesh mg with a bevel gear 72 on a vertical stubshaft 74. The stub shaft also carries a worm gear 76 which meshes with aworm wheel 46 on the end of sprocket shaft 42..

The means for lifting and lowering the material carriers38 from onelevel to the other within the housing 10 consists. of lifting arms 7 8at the forward end and lowering hooks 80 at the rear end, both beingmounted on those-portions of the endless chains 56 which 7 have verticalmovement within guides 82 each at one end of the housing. The liftingarms 78 arepivotally connected to roller blocks 84 interposed in r thechains at a suitable point, having flanged wheels 84 adapted to operatewithin the guides 82. The upper end of each lifting arm is formed with afork 78 adapted to rise under, engaged and lift its end of a carriersuspending shaft. When in their lowermost position, the lifting arms 78are held substantially upright beneath the ends of the shaft of theforemost carrier in the lower chamber, past which they move downwithinthe guides at the rear end of the/- housing like those at the front, andformed with lowering hooks adapted to engage under and hold the end ofthe shaft of the rearmost material carrier in the upper dryingcompartment after the said carrier has been moved onto the tracklengtheners 40. i

The lifting and lowering elements are so positioned on the endlesschains thatwhen the arms 78 have reached the lower limit of theirdownward travel, the hooks 80 will have raised the rearmost carrier inthe upper chamber slightly from the track lengtheners, permitting thesame to be swung by their counterbalances back out of the verticalpassage, thus leaving the said passage clear for the carrier to descendas the direction of travel of the chains is reversed.

The eflicient operation of the drier requires the provision of means foradvancing the material carriers through the respective dryingcompartments, step by step, at predetermined intervals, timed withrespect to the lifting and lowering operations. This intermittentadvance of the carriers in the upper chamber is accomplished by thrustof the lifting arms 78 as they approach their limit of upward movement.They have pivotal .connection with the chains, and when nearing theirupper limit of travel they are permitted to lean rearward, and thus topush the raised carrier upon the horizontal tracks in the uppercompartment. As

the chains continue in their upward movement the lifting arms inclinefurther rearward until when the limit of upward travel of the chains isreached they have come practically into horizontal position, and havepushed the raised carrier, and all the train of carriers on the sametracks in rear thereof,

advancing them all one carrier space rearward.-- During th1s rearwardmotion the rearmost one engages the track lengtheners 40 swinging theminto the vertical passage adjacent the vertical glidesor'tracks at therear end of the housing, where they support the said carrier in thepassage and in position to be picked up by the hooks 80 during theirtravel upward. While the lifting arms 78 are thus ,pushing the carriers38 rearward in the upper chamber, the lowering hooks are down and idle,having deposited the last lowered carrier on the tracks in the lowercompartment about the time said pushing action began; and the remainderof the downward travel of the hooks,

after such delivery, is lost motion. 2

a The advancement of the material carriers in the lower drying chamber16 is also in timed relation to the lifting and lowering operations. Forthis purpose a sprocketwheel 92 is mounted on the stub-shaft supportingeach centrally arranged sprocketwheel 54 and is driven thereby. Smallersprocket-wheels 94 are mounted at the extreme rear end of the housing,one being in linewith each sprocket 92. Chains 96 are trained over thesprockets 92 and 94 at each side of the lower drying compartment andthis chain has a finger or lug 95 thereon at a suitable point adapted toengage its end of the rear most-carrier in the lower compartment to pullthat carrier and all the' train of carriers in advance thereof onecarrier space forward as the lowering hooks 80 are passing through thelower extent oftheir travel downward. The pulling of the carriers thusplaces the foremost carrier in the lower compartment in position to belifted and also clears the rear end of the tracks for the reception ofthe next descending carrier. Due .to the connecting of the pushing andpullingdevices to the main drive mechanism, a timed and related actionbetween the several functions of the apparatus is ensured.

A single automatic control for the various elements of the device isprovided at one end of the main housing 10. This control embodies ashort horizontal shaft 100, mounted in a suitable bearing 102 at the;end of the housing, on which is loosely mounted a rocker-lever 104between fixedly mounted arm 106 and sprocket-wheel 108. The sprocket 108has a chain connection with a similar sprocket-wheel 110 on a horizontalstub shaft 112 at the top of the housing, the

said stub shaft being driven by the sprocket shaft through bevel gears114. The rocker-lever 104 is formed with outward and upward extendingside arms which are connected together at their upper ends by strips ofangle-iron which form a guide for a roller counterweight 116. Near thelower end of each side arm of the rocker-lever 104 there is a projectinglug 104 adapted to be engagedby the arm 106 in its alternating rotarymotion. The lugs 104* may be provided with adjusting screws to permitvariation in the time of their engagement by the rotating arm 106. Asthe shaft 100 is *rotated through its connection with the main drive,the arm 106 is rotated and en gages one of the lugs 104 on the rockerlever 104 causing the said lever to move therewith.

When the roller counterweight 116 at the upper end of the rocker-leveris raised beyond a certain point it will roll along its guide and willstrike the endof guide -witha forcmsufiicient to snap the rockerleverwith a quick motion in the direction of its travel, stops 118 beingprovided to limit the movement of the rocker-lever. As

this snap of the rocker-lever occurs, a clutch lever 120, which extendsbetween the side armsof the lever, is engaged by one of said arms toshift the clutch element 62 from engagement with one loose pulley onshaft .into engagement with the other loose pulley thereon. This actionreverses the direction of travel of the respective elements within thedevice. As the arm 106 is then rotated in the opposite direction it willengage the other projecting lug on the rocker lever 1.04 moving thelever until the roller counterweight is raised to a point when it willroll to snap the clutch lever to again reverse the direction of travel.

In this manner there is provided a posi-' tive acting control directlyconnected with the operative parts of the drier and one which willmaintain the respective functions of the drier in timed relation.

I claim as my invention:

- 1. A drier comprising, in combination, a pair of drying chambers, oneabove the other; carriers therein for material to be dried; guides forhorizontal movement of the carriers through the chambers; an endlessflexible driving element guided in vertical direction at each end ofsaid pair of chambers; carrier engaging means on said element forshifting carriers between the chambers; and auxiliary flexible means,having a horizontally moving carrier-engaging device thereby actuatedfor advancing carriers horizontally in a chamber.

2..A drier comprising, in combination, a

pair of drying chambers, one above the other;

carriers therein for \material to be dried; guides for horizontalmovement of the carriers through the chambers; an endless flexibledriving. element guided in vertical direction at each end of said pairof chambers; an endless flexible driving elementguided-in horizontaldirection along a chamber guide; and carrier engaging means on saidelements for shifting periodically the position of carriers in theseveral directions a carrier in one chamber to transfer it to the otherchamber; and a flexible element having carrier engaging means mountedfor reciprocating motion horizontally and positioned to engage andadvance carriers throu h a chamber.

4. drier comprising, in combination, a

intermittently .pair of drying chambers, one above the and arranged tomove the carriers; a clutch with reversible drive for said flexible.drivc element; a reversing mechanism for the clutch; and a lug on themoving system which includes the flexible element, arranged to trip theclutch reversing mechanism.

5. A drier comprising, in combination, a pair of drying chambers, oneabove the other; carriers therein for material to be -dried; guides forhorizontal and vertical movement of the carriers through the circuit ofthe chambers; an endless flexible drive element passing along a part ofthe circuit and arranged to move the carriers; a clutch with reversibledrive, for said flexible drive element; and automatic means forperiodic. shifting of said clutch, comprising a clutch lever; a loosesegment for engaging and operating said lever, having lost motion in itsengagement thereof; a weight mounted to roll in said segment ;.,andmeans on the moving system which includes the flexible element forrocking the segment to elevate said weight to where it will roll alongthe segment and thereby snap the segment in other; carriers therein formaterial to be dried; guides for horizontal movement of the carriersthrough the chambers; a reciproeating main drive chain; an auxiliarychain arranged in the lower chamber for horizontal travel and having alug for engaging a carrier in the lower chamber, there being a sprocketconnection between the two said chains. V

7. A drier comprising, in combination, a pair of drying chambers, oneabove the other; carriers therein for material to be dried; guidesfor-[horizontal movement of the carriers through the chambers; a maindrive chain; an auxiliary chain having connections with the main drivechain, arranged for horizontal travel through the chamber; and means onsaid auxiliary chain whereby straight line pull of said auxiliary chaineffects straight line push of a carrier'through a chamber. v

Signed at Providence, Rhode Island, this 8th day of July, 1926.

JOSEPH ROBERTS.

